Cooking with olive oil
Castillo de Pinar Organic Extra virgin olive oil or Extra Virgin Olive Oil will add flavor to uncooked dishes, such as salads, soups or sauces by adding intensity and depth of flavor to your food.
Olive Oil is also ideal for making vinaigrettes.
Extra Virgin Olive oil balances and softens the acidic “bite” in high-acid foods, such as tomatoes, lemon juice, vinegar and wine.
When mixed together with herbs and spices the olive oil enables the mixture to blend perfectly together. Castillo de Piñar has its own unique taste, aromas and nuances which comes from the well-tended Picual olive. It is great for marinades or sauces for meat, fish, poultry, and vegetables, helping the marinade penetrate into the first few layers of the food being marinated.
Tips & Suggestions
- When dressing a salad add your seasoning first and then your vinegar. Make sure olive oil is the last thing you add to the salad, this will allow the seasoning to blend with your vegetables and fruit.
- Olive oil intensifies the flavor of food, so you can use it to increase the spiciness.
- Use Olive oil on crusted bread, alone or blended with herbs and spices. Look for recipes on our cooking section.
- Pouring olive oil over foods already cooked will intensify the taste, as well as improve your presentation by adding enhancing the natural colors of the food.
- Before refrigerating homemade pesto, add a thin layer of fine virgin olive oil on top of the sauce after putting it in a jar so the pesto will keep its green color.
Frying & Sauteing
Unlike other oils, Castillo de Piñar Olive Oil is able to withstand high temperatures without breaking down and forming a toxic compound. Olive oil smoke points vary depending on the quality of the olive oil.
According to the IOC (International Olive Council which is in Madrid, Spain), Olive oil is ideal for frying. In proper temperature conditions, without over-heating, it undergoes no substantial structural change and keeps its nutritional value better than other oils, not only because of the antioxidants in it but also due to its high levels of oleic acid.
The smoke point of Olive Oil (210ºC)is substantially higher than the ideal temperature for frying food (180ºC). Other fats such as corn oil or butter have lower smoke points, so they break down at this temperature and form toxic products.
frying with pomace oil
Frying with Castillo de Pinar Olive Pomace oil is much healthier, and tasty, too. Olive-pomace oil is very light and has a non-distinctive aroma. It has little flavor and only a hint of green olives or grassy aroma. It has almost no flavor so it leaves no taste influence on the food. Olive Pomace oil does offer some of the positive benefits associated with olive oils vs other frying oils and is very inexpensive.
Olive Pomace Oil, which is used mainly for frying has a smoking point of 460°F/238°C. Make sure you manage the temperatures carefully.
When fried at the proper temperature, olive oil forms a protective crust that helps maintain moisture inside the food which prevents your food from sticking or becoming greasy.
Olive-pomace oil is made from the olive pulp left over from the first cold press. Pomace is the ground pulp or flesh of the olive and the pits left over after pressing. The pulp still contains about 5 to 8 percent oil. The extracted olive pomace oil from the ground pulp is refined and then blended with refined virgin olive oil. Olive Pomace Oil has a free acidity of no more than 1 gram per 100 grams (1%) and its other characteristics correspond to those included for this category in the IOOC standards.
Please note: Olive pomace oil is made for specific applications and should not be considered Olive Oil as you know it. This grade of oil from olives is typically used for high volume frying and not the other many uses for high quality olive oils.
Frying Tips
- When frying, high heat is essential, as frying with lower temperatures will draw out the juices, which results in steaming instead of browning. However, make sure the oil is not smoking. If it is, dispose of it - it has a low smoke point and is unsuitable for frying at high temperatures.
- Make sure that any food that you are going to fry, such as vegetables, poultry or meat is rinsed and dried before putting it in the hot pan.
- When frying battered, floured or breadcrumb-coated foods, fry between 310-340ºF (155ºC-170ºC).
- For deep-frying, raise temperature to 350-375ºF (180-190ºC).
- Do not be afraid to use plenty of Olive Oil.
- Make sure to batter food before frying so it does not become soggy. If you overcrowd the pan it will cause for the temperature of the oil to drop making the food soggy. Make sure you have enough oil in the pan so it covers completely the food.
- You want to get a nice brown before flipping or turning the food.
Grilling
Olive oil can preserve the natural juices of broiled, roasted or grilled meats. Brush extra virgin or virgin olive oil over your favorite vegetables, meat, poultry or seafood before grilling to seal in the flavor, moisture, and natural juices, while crisping the exterior.
- If you brush your chicken or fish with Olive oil before baking it, it will make that chicken skin crisp and delicious, just how you like it!
- Brush olive oil over corn on the cob before slowly grill it at a low temperature. Dashing salt and pepper over it before serving it up hot and tasty.
Baking with Olive Oil
Most people don't think of using olive oil when baking, but it's actually a great way to get more monounsaturated fat and polyphenolic compounds into your diet. We recommend our Castillo de Piñar Virgin Olive Oil for baking. It has the perfect blend of its Picual and Arbequina olives to give it a mild flavor ideal for baking. It is especially good for baking savory breads, cakes, cookies, and other pastries. Because of its high smoke point our Virgin olive oil withstands high-heat cooking methods. Next time you are baking, try using virgin olive oil as a healthy alternative to butter.